Dave Hakstol Shuffles Lines Looking For Offense

Dave Hakstol Shuffles Lines Looking For Offense

The Philadelphia Flyers top line has been terrific to start the season. In 17 games, Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier and Jakub Voracek have combined for 23 goals and 60 points.

Unfortunately for the Flyers, when the top line is not producing like they did against the Chicago Blackhawks last Wednesday, they struggle to find the back of the net like they did in their shutout loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

The Flyers returned to the practice ice on Monday morning and head coach Dave Hakstol shuffled his lines in order to try to produce more offense outside of this top trio. The biggest change was moving Jordan Weal from the left side of the third line to centering the second line between Dale Weise and Wayne Simmonds.

“We’re just trying to find something that’s going to click, so we can get a little more offense throughout the lineup,” Weal said after practice, per Sam Carchidi of philly.com. “I’ve played a lot of hockey games at center ice, so it’s not that big of a change.”

“It’s a different mix,” Hakstol told reporters, per the Courier-Post. “Guys are working hard and guys are getting opportunities, but sometimes just a little bit of a change has a way of breaking things loose. It’s a little different look for (Weal) as well as his linemates. It’s something that I think maybe will add a bit of a spark for him and his linemates.”